How much do you think it's worth?

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Sandi Lieber - 06 Mar 2004 22:12 GMT

Hi Everyone,

I have a mini that was hit from behind. It's an A-reg (1983), center
console simple one (just speedo with lights for oil, signal and
engine). It's in fine condition, with only 37,000 miles on it. The
body is solid. The engine is in good condition - has only had to have
tune-ups over the past year. I got the car in Autumn, 2002. It has
brand-new minilites, wider tyres than the normal.

Anyway, I was hit from behind. The insurance company says it's a write
off. But I've had it repaired. It was in such good condition that the
body shop said the floor of the boot was in "excellent condition" and
didn't need to be touched, apart from pulling it out a bit.

The insurance company will want to offer the cheapest price possible.
I know that one the open market, I could probably get well over £1000
for it, which is about what the repairs cost.

What do you think?

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Haje Jan Kamps - 06 Mar 2004 23:21 GMT

> Hi Everyone,
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> What do you think?

you say nothing about engine size or mini model, so it's hard to help
you. But saying "well over £1000" sounds optimistic, unless it is a
groovy / hard to find model.

If it is a bog-standard COMPLETELY rust-free Mayfair or City or similar,
with a 998 engine and no fancy stuff, you could get about £1200 for it,
I reckon. £1600 at a dealership - tops.

Have a look at different mini dealerships (links to lots of them are
available here: http://www.minirepository.com/links/?id=1 ), and see
what a model similar to yours can fetch.

h

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chris - 06 Mar 2004 23:59 GMT

> Hi Everyone,
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> What do you think?

Look in miniworld, minimag etc and find comparable cars to yours. Show ins
company.
Take lots of photo's of yours including the interior, put the days newspaper
in some of the pics (this will prove they aren't old pics - taken the day
after it was driven out of the dealers ;-) ). With these you can show that
yours is better than most of a comparable age.
Get an enginners report from a reputable garage.

All this helps when trying to gey your money out of an ins company. If you
can't get agreed value then go for salvage rights.

chris

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Graham W - 07 Mar 2004 01:32 GMT

> I have a mini that was hit from behind.

> The insurance company says it's a write off.

> But I've had it repaired.

> The insurance company will want to offer the cheapest price possible.
> I know that one the open market, I could probably get well over £1000
> for it, which is about what the repairs cost.

> What do you think?

I think that if the car without damage was worth £1200, and you have
spent that amount repairing it, the insurance company is right - it was
a write off.

There are three important numbers in determining what an insurance
company will pay:

The value of the vehicle before the accident (which should also be the
value of the repaired vehicle). Let's say £1200.

The cost of repairs. Also £1200.

The value of the wreck. Let's say about £200.

To repair the car economically, the cost of repairs must be less than
the difference between the pre-accident value and the value of the
wreck.

In this case, instead of spending £1200 to increase the value of the
wreck from £200 to £1200, you should sell the wreck for £200. You can
then take that £200 and a further £1000 to buy another £1200 Mini.

Expect the insurance company to try to pay you the preaccident value of
the car less the value of the wreck.

For some cars, a wreck with all mechanicals in good condition can be
worth almost as much as a complete going car. As a result, even for
quite minor damage it may be more economical for the insurance company
to pay out the value of the car and sell the wreck for parts than to
repair the car.

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Sandi Lieber - 07 Mar 2004 10:19 GMT

> > I have a mini that was hit from behind.
>
[quoted text clipped - 38 lines]
> to pay out the value of the car and sell the wreck for parts than to
> repair the car.

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm working my way through the mini mags
at the moment (and the links provided - thanks!). I think the car is
worth at least £1200 based on what you said. The repairs will be less
than £1000.

I had had a front-end collision (small - only cosmetic damage) with it
and that was completely repaired with my insurance company giving me
£900 less the deductible, which I eventually got back from the other
insurance company. That was a couple of years ago. No, I'm not
accident prone! Honest! It's in much better condition now than it was
then. Certainly more beautiful, imo.

Thanks again for your opinions. I'm going to try to hold out for at
least £1000 plus my rental car expenses. It was entirely the other
guy's fault, after all...

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